Holy Spokes: Charleston Bike Share

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Bike share is an innovative and fun 24/7 transportation system. It is perfect for both point-to-point trips and long scenic rides. Users are provided with the ability to download a mobile app, sign up for the system and pick up a bike from any of the convenient bike hubs and return it to any other hub within the system area.

YES! Whether you are a Charleston local who commutes all too often, a frequent visitor, or just in town for the day, Holy Spokes is perfect for you. With our 27 convenient locations across the peninsula, you can spend a day riding around town and indulging in Charleston’s beautiful scenery, use it to commute or to hop around town and experience the nightlife. We offer several payment plan options, so you can select which fits your needs on our pricing page.

YES! The bikes do have a “Hold” feature. If a user wants to pop in a coffee shop and hop back on the same bike, simply press the “Hold” button on the keypad on the back of the bike and you will be prompted to lock the bike. This will avoid the $5 out of hub fee as well as hold the bike for the user for up to 30 minutes. During this time the bike will not be available for other users to rent. As long as the user returns to the bike on hold within the 30-minute time frame.

Our designated system area is visible on our map on this website as well as in the mobile app. If a user decides to ride a bike out of the system, lock the bike and end their ride there, that user will be charged a $50 “Out of System” fee. Feel free to ride the bikes anywhere but make sure to return them to the designated area when finished to avoid this fee.

es, you can reserve a bike from the mobile app or https://app.socialbicycles.com up to 15 minutes, so it will be waiting for you when you arrive – you’ll never have to worry about showing up at an empty station when you need to get somewhere. Select a bike on the map, click the blue button ‘Reserve this bike’ or ‘Reserve a bike at this hub’. Click green “Confirm” button.

To cancel the reservation, tap on the red ‘Cancel’ button at the bottom of the screen. If you cancel before 1-minute, no fees will apply. Beyond 1-minute, paid time begins to accrue (counts towards your total ride time).

After 15 minutes, the timer expires and the bike becomes available for other users to rent.

Users can purchase any level of membership online or via the SoBi mobile app on a smartphone. Once registered, a rider can access the map of hubs which will indicate how many bikes are available at each. When users sign up, they will be given a 6-digit account number and 4-digit pin code. Users can simply walk up to a bike enter the code and PIN, unlock and begin riding. When you arrive at your final destination, return and lock the bike at a designated Holy Spokes station. The bike is now available for others to use. Bike can also be reserved, booking time is 15 minutes. (Bikes may also be locked to any regular bike rack or secure object for a $5 fee). Please note riders should always end their trip within the system area and the bike must always be securely locked to a fixed object when locking a bike or putting it on hold.

Bike share is intended for point to point transportation. The difference in bike share versus bike renting is that it is completely self-sufficient and the user does not have to return the bike to the same location that it was picked up from. Our bikes also track the user’s calories burned, carbon dioxide emissions reduced and money saved versus driving (all of this information is accessible on the mobile app or the website under the “Usage” tab).

According to South Carolina state law, bicyclists are not required to wear helmets. However, we strongly encourage and recommend all users wear helmets. We have partnered with the local store, the Bicycle Shoppe, to provide discounted helmets riders can rent.

Yes. Users who are on any of our standard payment plans, including “Founding Members” are able to rent up to three bikes at a time on their account. Users on a discounted pricing plan will only be able to rent one bike at a time.

If possible, use your SoBi app to check rack availability at stations before your ride. However, we understand this is not always ideal so in the case that the rack is full, lock the bike to itself and send us a quick email letting us know- holyspokes@thegotchagroup.com